Screw It Being a Man's World.

Today in my Biology class, I learned that the two men who took credit for discovering DNA helixes and how they work stole the prior research from a woman. Rosalind Franklin was the first one to photograph and work with DNA via X-ray diffraction in the 1950's. Thanks to her breakthrough with it, scientists were able to see the way that double helixes cross and spiral.

And then James Watson and Francis Crick stole credit for it. Granted, Crick and Watson did elaborate on what Franklin did, but seriously - the guys went into her lab when she wasn't there, looked at her research and X-rays, and then read various articles that she had written about her findings before they came up with their models. They were also the ones who recieved the Nobel Prize for it, not Franklin.

Anyone else think this is terrible?

I don't understand why we ever had this notion that women are only good as homemakers. Seriously, nothing pisses me off more than the thought that if I was born in a different era, I would be forced to stay at home and play the role of a wife. Let me take a moment to clarify, though, before I offend anyone.

I am not against being a wife, having kids, and being a stay at home mom. Honestly, if I ever find the right guy, I think I could be perfectly happy doing just that. However, I never, EVER want it forced onto me. I want the opportunity to chose what I do with my life up until that point, and I want to be able to have credit given me where credit is due. I don't want my gender ruling my life or my place in society. I expect to be allowed to vote, write, compete in the job market against others, have my voice heard, etc. I, in short, want - no, demand - that I have every right to be happy and successful as a man.

And that's because of the era I'm living in. It is still to an extent a "man's world", with woman's issues (such as abortion) in the Congress (which is run primarily by men - what do they know regarding such things anyway?) and slight pay differences in some places. But still, I have the ability to go to college and to vote and to keep this blog. I am planning on going into science, which is a field no longer primarily dominated by men, and I am planning on somehow impacting society, be it through teaching, writing, or research.

Why couldn't Rosalind Franklin have the same thing? Why did it take us so long as a society to get to this point? I don't understand. I don't understand why women were looked down for so long (and in some places still are). I don't get why we are considered the weaker of the genders.

And don't even say childbirth. I may not have any kids, but I know how much work is involved in that. Show me a man who can do that, and I'll zip my trap.

I guess what I'm saying is that I don't think it's fair for men to take credit for all the major breakthroughs in life, especially when it's not their idea, just because women aren't as "great", "powerful", or "strong" as they are.

*gets off her soapbox*

That is all. And if I meet a guy, the minute he makes me change is the minute it's over.

~Meaghan